Notre Dame is Relevant

            Nobody thought Notre Dame would finish the season undefeated and earn a spot in the national championship. Before the season I said the Irish would finish 9-3. Eric Hansen on the South Ben Tribune said 8-4. Even Brian Kelly didn’t think they would have a perfect season. Yet in one week, the undefeated #1 Fighting Irish will play the #2 Alabama Crimson Tide for the BCS National Championship.

Notre Dame’s perfect season and run to the BCS National Championship is magical because of all the intangibles that were involved on and off the field. Here is why this season has been one of the greatest in Fighting Irish history.

• 125^th season of Notre Dame football
• Season began in Ireland
• Four coaches have won national championships in their third year. This is Brian Kelly’s third year
• Kelly’s assistant coaches are easily one of the best groups in the country. Defensive coordinator Bob Diaco and offensive coordinator Chuck Martin deserve a lot more recognition of how they have prepared their units for each opponent they faced
• Roster full of talented individuals and a mix of young and old players
• There is only one superstar on the team but he would never say that himself. That player is Manti Te’o

Te’o’s humble spirit and never quit work ethic have inspired the entire team. Nobody on the team boasted or bragged during the season. Nobody ever quit until the clock read 00:00. If you want evidence then look back at the season. Every game the Irish were in was a battle. There was no room for the weak or anybody with an ounce of quit in them. It took complete team efforts to beat Michigan State, Oklahoma and USC on the road as well as Pittsburgh and Stanford in overtime.

I’ve been a Notre Dame fan for 11 years. I was starting to believe that the Irish would never play for a championship. The last time they had won one was before I was born and since that year they had struggled to ever return to that level. As each year passed without Notre Dame winning a BCS game, the number of doubters grew and grew. Would Notre Dame ever return to relevance? Could a Catholic school compete with the SEC and Big 10? Could an academic institution that has the rigorous demands that Notre Dame still draw big name recruits?

The answer to all of those is yes and that has been proven by Brian Kelly. Kelly went 8-5 in his first two years. That was not what many Irish faithful want, but you could tell he was making improvements. He continually brought in Top 10 recruiting classes and his teams were playing great on both sides of the ball. It has been a long time since the Irish had even a Top 5 defense. Kelly has created a team that knows how to win and is dedicated to winning in the future. He has established an amazing group of assistant coaches, a group that I believe is an integral part of how Notre Dame got to where they are.

It doesn’t matter if the Fighting Irish win or lose on January 7^th because Brian Kelly will win a national championship in his tenure at Notre Dame. It may not be this year but it will happen. When it does millions across America and the world will celebrate because football at Notre Dame is more than a game. It’s a celebration of what college football is all about. Students that happen to play football at the highest level.

Colts News

            In a Week 17 matchup between the 10-5 Colts and 12-3 Texans, can you believe that only the team has something to play for besides pride is the Texans? The Indianapolis Colts have locked up the #5 seed and nothing they do can change that. As for the Texans, if they win they clinch the #1 seed and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. But the Texans are gonna have to dig deep if they expect to beat Indy because we have a new weapon on the sidelines and his name is Chuck Pagano! Pagano has regained his health after battling Leukemia and will return as head coach for the first time since September. There is going to be a lot of emotion on the field tomorrow and nobody on the Colts is going to want to walk into the locker room without a victory.

            Besides Pagano being back, there are a few other reasons why the Colts shouldn’t be such an underdog. First off, the Texans have NEVER won in Indianapolis before. They are 0-10 in the RCA Dome and Lucas Oil Stadium. Second, the Colts handed the game to the Texans in Week 15. Even though the final score was 29-17, the Colts could have easily won. We fumbled the ball on the goal line and had a Pat McAfee punt blocked and returned for a touchdown. If we score on that touchdown and don’t allow the Texans to block the punt the score would have been 24-22, Colts win.

Colts and Texans play at 1:00 p.m. on CBS.

Postseason Awards

             
There are three candidates for Rookie of the Year. They are Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III, and Russell Wilson. All are quarterbacks for their teams and all have greatly surpassed their expectations.

The Colts were 2-14 last year and with Luck as quarterback they soared to 10-5 with one game left. Luck has been superb in the 4^th quarter but has had his rookie moments. He has thrown 21 touchdowns but also 18 interceptions and has fumbled 9 times. If you’re going to criticize him on the turnovers you should note that he has one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL and one that has struggled with injury the entire year.

Robert Griffin has been electric in his first year. His 9-6 Redskins are one win away from winning the NFC East title. He has thrown for 20 touchdowns and rushed for 6 more while throwing just five interceptions. However, he has the same number of fumbles as Luck, with nine. Griffin has also had the luxury of joining a team that was a little better than the Colts as the Redskins went 5-11 last season.

Russell Wilson has been the biggest shocker of anybody. Nobody, including me, expected him to perform anywhere near the level he has. He has thrown for 25 touchdowns and rushed for 3 while completing 63% of his passes. The biggest fault I have with Wilson winning ROTY is that he joined a team that was already pretty good. The Seahawks were 7-9 last year and have a tremendous defense.

If I was voting, I would vote Griffin and then Luck.

There are two awards that should be no-brainers. Coach of the Year HAS to be Bruce Arians. Arians took over after his best friend, Chuck Pagano, was diagnosed with Leukemia. Arians has no coaching experience but he guided the young Colts to where they are now. But you cannot forget who they guy was that brough Arians and Pagano to the Colts franchise, and that’s Ryan Grigson. He has worked miracles for this team. Besides drafting Andrew Luck, he also acquired Dwayne Allen, T.Y. Hilton and Vick Ballard in the draft. He also signed linebacker Jerrell Freeman, wide receivers Donnie Avery and Lavon Brazil and traded for cornerback Vontae Davis. The only other name I have heard come up against Grigson for Executive of the Year is the Denver Broncos’ executive because he signed Peyton Manning. The genius behind that idea was a man I once respected, John Clayton. Even though Grigson brought in 36 new players, a fact that Clayton even acknowledges, he still believes that Denver should win the award.

Bowl Picks

It’s bowl season again! My favorite team of the year! Here’s my picks for the 35 bowl games. The predicted winners are in bold. The final outcome is below each game.

-By the way, I finished 92-49 (.537) in regular season picks. Sports Illustrated’s Stewart Mandel went 83-57 (.687).

Gildan New Mexico Bowl-Dec. 15^th

Nevada Wolfpack (7-5) vs. Arizona Wildcats (7-5)
Arizona-49. Nevada-48

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl- Dec. 15^th

#18 Utah State (10-3) vs. Toledo Rockets (9-3)
Utah State-41. Toledo-15

San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl- Dec. 20^th

Brigham Young Cougars (7-5) vs. San Diego State Aztecs (9-3)
BYU- 23. San Diego State-6

Beef O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg- Dec. 21^st

Ball State Cardinals (9-3) vs. UCF Knights (9-4)

UCF-38. Ball State-17

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl- Dec. 22^nd

East Carolina Pirates (8-4) vs. Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns (8-4)

LA-Lafayette-43. East Carolina-34

MAACO Las Vegas Bowl- Dec. 22^nd

#20 Boise State Broncos (10-2) vs. Washington Huskies (7-5)

Boise State- 28. Washington-26

Sheraton Hawaii Bowl- Dec. 24^th

Fresno State Bulldogs (9-3) vs. SMU Mustangs (6-6)
SMU-43. Fresno State-10

Little Caesars Bowl- Dec. 26^th

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (7-5) vs. Central Michigan Chippewas (6-6)

Central Michigan-24. Western Kentucky-21

Military Bowl presented by Northrup Grumman- Dec. 27^th

#24 San Jose State Spartans (10-2) vs. Bowling Green Falcons (8-4)

San Jose State-29. Bowling Green-20

Belk Bowl- Dec. 27^th

Cincinnati Bearcats (9-3) vs. Duke Blue Devils (6-6)

Cincinnati-48. Duke-34

Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl- Dec. 27^th

#17 UCLA Bruins (9-4) vs. Baylor Bears (7-5)

Baylor-49. UCLA-26

AdvoCare V100 Indpendence Bowl- Dec. 28^th

Ohio Bobcats (8-4) vs. Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks (8-4)

Ohio-45. ULM- 14

Russell Athletic Bowl- Dec. 28^th

Rutgers Scarlet Knights (9-3) vs. Virginia Tech Hokies (6-6)

Virginia Tech-13. Rutgers- 10

Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas- Dec. 28^th

Texas Tech Red Raiders (7-5) vs. Minnesota Golden Gophers (6-6)

Texas Tech-34. Minnesota-31

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl- Dec. 29^th

Air Force Falcons (6-6) vs. Rice Owls (6-6)

Rice-33. Air Force-14

New Era Pinstripe Bowl- Dec. 29^th

West Virginia Mountaineers vs. Syracuse Orange (7-5)

Syracuse-39. West Virginia-14

Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl- Dec. 29^th

Navy Midshipmen (8-4) vs. Arizona State (7-5)

Arizona State- 62. Navy-28

Valero Alamo Bowl- Dec. 29^th

#15 Oregon State (9-3) vs. Texas Longhorns (8-4)

Texas-31. Oregon State-27

Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl- Dec. 29^th

TCU Horned Frogs (7-5) vs. Michigan State Spartans (6-6)

Michigan State-17. TCU-16

Franklin American Mutual Mortgage Music City Bowl- Dec. 31^st

Vanderbilt Commodores (8-4) vs. NC State (7-5)

Vanderbilt-38. NC State-24

Hyundai Sun Bowl- Dec. 31^st

USC Trojans (6-7) vs. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (6-7)

Georgia Tech-21. USC-7

AutoZone Liberty Bowl- Dec. 31^st

Tulsa Golden Hurricane (10-3) vs. Iowa State Cyclones (6-6)

-battle of the natural disasters

Tulsa-31. Iowa State-17

Chick-fil-A Bowl- Dec. 31^st

#9 LSU Tigers (10-2) vs. #14 Clemson Tigers (10-2)

Clemson-25. LSU-24

TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl- Jan 1^s

#21 Northwestern Wildcats (9-3) vs. Mississippi State Bulldogs (8-4)

Northwestern- 34. Mississippi State-20

Heart of Dallas Bowl- Jan. 1^st

Oklahoma State (7-5) vs. Purdue Boilermakers (6-6)

Oklahoma State- 58. Purdue-14

Capital One Bowl- Jan. 1^st

#6 Georgia Bulldogs (11-2) vs. #23 Nebraska Cornhuskers (10-3)

Georgia-45. Nebraska-31

Outback Bowl- Jan. 1^st

#11 South Carolina Gamecocks (10-2) vs. #19 Michigan Wolverines (8-4)

-these Big 10 vs. SEC games are really weak this year. It’s just gonna let the SEC continue to build it’s hype and aura. 
South Carolina-33. Michigan-28

Rose Bowl Game presented by Vizio- Jan. 1^st

#8 Stanford Cardinal (11-2) vs. Wisconsin Badgers (8-5)

Stanford-20. Wisconsin-14

Discover Orange Bowl- Jan. 1^st

#13 Florida State Seminoles (11-2) vs. #16 Northern Illinois Huskies (12-1)

Florida State-31. Northern Illinois-10.

Allstate Sugar Bowl- Jan. 2^nd

#4 Florida Gators (11-1) vs. #22 Louisville Cardinals (10-2)

Louisville- 33. Florida-23

Tostito’s Fiesta Bowl- Jan. 3^rd

#5 Oregon Ducks (11-1) vs. #7 Kansas State Wildcats (11-1)

Oregon-35. Kansas State-17

AT&T Cotton Bowl- Jan. 4^th

#10 Texas A&M (10-2) vs. #12 Oklahoma Sooners (10-2)

-this is matchup I’m most looking forward to besides the championship.

Texas A&M-41. Oklahoma-13

BBVA Compass Bowl- Jan. 5^th

Ole Miss Rebels (6-6) vs. Pittsburgh Panthers (6-6)

Ole Miss-38. Pitt-23

GoDaddy.com Bowl- Jan. 6^th

#25 Kent State Golden Flashes vs. Arkansas State Red Wolves (9-3)

Arkansas State-17. Kent State-13

Discover BCS National Championship – Jan. 7^th

#1 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (12-0) vs. #2 Alabama Crimson Tide (12-1)

-What’s more unpredictable? Notre Dame finishing undefeated or a one-loss SEC team being ranked #2 in the national championship game?
Alabama-42. Notre Dame-14

College Football Week 11 Picks

I’m writing this from a hotel room 32 miles north of the University of Notre Dame. In less than 12 hours I will be walking around the campus taking in all the sights and sounds that make the Notre Dame Football Experience like nothing else in America. The #3 Fighting Irish will be taking on the Wake Forest Demon Deacons on Senior Day. This is the second to last game of the season and final home game.

Predicted score: Notre Dame-28. Wake Forest-7

National Predictions

Last Week: 5-5

Season: 73-38

Games are in order of scheduled kickoff times. Predicted winners in bold:

Indiana Hoosiers (4-6) at Penn State Nittany Lions (6-4)

#22 Rutgers Scarlet Knights (8-1) at Cincinnati Bearcats (7-2)

Northwestern Wildcats (7-3) at Michigan State Spartans (5-5)

#18 USC Trojans (7-3) at #17 UCLA Bruins (8-2)

Wake Forest Demon Deacons (5-5) at #3 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (10-0)

#23 Texas Tech Red Raiders (7-2) at #24 Oklahoma State Cowboys (6-3)

Ohio State Buckeyes (10-0) at Wisconsin Badgers (7-3)

#12 Oklahoma Sooners (7-2) at West Virginia Mountaineers (5-4)

#1 Kansas State Wildcats (10-0) at Baylor Bears (4-5)

#13 Stanford Cardinal (8-2) at #2 Oregon Ducks (10-0)